Oh, yeah, Jared Allen was frustrated after the Denver Broncos beat the Vikings 35-32 with a last-second field goal. As usual, Allen was the Vikings’ best defensive player. He made an end-zone tackle for a safety and had a sack and fumble recovery. The safety was the fourth of his career, tying an NFL record.

Allen’s game isn’t the problem. It is other issues on defense.

“Obviously, there are glaring issues that have to be corrected,” Allen said.

I talked to Allen about those issues after the latest loss.

BS: Was it Tim Tebow that beat you or was it breakdowns?

JA: It was blatant breakdowns, man. It’s one thing if the guy beats you, but when you beat yourself … We’ve got guys who were wide open. Whether we’ve got to get there faster up front, I don’t know. Those were fundamental breakdowns in our fundamental coverage.

BS: How much faster can you get to the quarterback?

JA: We got pressure on him. We’ve got to play better as a team. We couldn’t tackle the run in the second half to save our lives. Dudes were wide open. We couldn’t get (Tebow) on the ground in the second half, period. How many points did we give up in the dang second half? (It was 28 points.) Ridiculous.

BS: You’re mixing and matching guys in the secondary. Do they not know what each other is supposed to do?

JA: I’m not the secondary coach. I just know that each man has got to step up and play their game. It’s on everybody to do their job. Whatever your job is, that’s what you’ve got to do. If you’ve got to tackle this guy, tackle that guy. If you’ve got to rush the passer, rush the passer. If you’ve got to cover somebody, cover somebody. You see how we can play. They didn’t sniff (a thing) in that first half. We made them look like the next greatest thing (in the second half). They took advantage of opportunities. They didn’t have the breakdowns. We didn’t win the turnover battle. Turnovers kill us. You name it, we screwed it up.

BS: How often have you been this frustrated?

JA: No loss is a good loss. It’s the same thing. We have a lead in the first half. We have a lead in the fourth quarter, and we squander it. We’ve got to get used to winning. I think we’re so dang used to losing that I don’t know what happens. Another game next week. We’ll try to figure it out.

BS: Did you say anything to Christian Ponder after his interception (that set up the Broncos’ game-winning field goal)?

JA: No, I just go out there. We have enough faults we’re dealing with on defense. I don’t really care what our offense does. We’ve got to stop people, get the ball back. If he throws three picks, we have to get three ourselves. That’s the way I look at it.

BS: Was there a point in the game when you were confident you would win?

JA: Yeah, up until he kicked the field goal (to win the game). I even thought we were going to block the field goal. It sucks.

BS: Did you know you tied the record (for most safeties)?

JA: No. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I’ll look back on it. That stuff is nice in the offseason. Right now, I look at plays I possibly didn’t make to help our team win.

BS: Did you think officials would reverse the call on your fumble recovery after you took down Tebow? (The recovery was challenged but upheld.)

JA: I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what was going on. I saw him go down. I assumed the ball came out afterwards. That’s why I scooped it up, just in case. After I saw the replay, I saw he put the ball on the ground and his knee didn’t touch. I didn’t even know they were challenging. I was lined back up.

BS: What impressed you about Tebow?

JA: He lit us up. I can’t say nothing about that. We didn’t let him run. I guess that’s a plus. I would’ve bet my paycheck that he would not have beat us passing the football.

BS: Have you ever played for a team that let your opponent score? (A moment earlier, Allen said he was thinking about whether the Vikings should let the Broncos score after Ponder’s interception with 1:25 to play so Minnesota could get the ball back and have a chance to tie or win the game.)

JA: No. I’ve been in some games I wish we let that happen. I’m not a coach. I don’t have to make those decisions. Maybe one day, if I’m ever a coach, I’ll tell our guys to let them score.

BS: Are you at the point that you just want the season to end and hit reset for next year?

JA: No, man. I want to win games. I don’t want to be 2-11, or whatever the heck we are. (The Vikings are 2-10.) I feel I am blessed to have a job in an economy where there are not a lot of jobs. Win or loss, I’m not going to shut it down. I’m going to fight this thing to the very end. That’s what they pay me to do. That’s what the fans expect. This isn’t Minnesota Vikings football. It really isn’t. And I can’t apologize enough to our fans.

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